Jump to content
BC Boards

Update on "LUCY"


Recommended Posts

I'd like to say that the last 4 days I've been doing the "work for food" thing and WOW what a huge difference! Though she has momentary relapses occasionally; Lucy is actually learning quite fast what is acceptable behavior and what is not. She is even allowed to sleep with me again instead of in her room (she is quite happy about this). I still use her room as a time out when she does get too rough and so far 20 minutes is good enough for the both of us. When my little sis (6 yo) came over she didn't have to sit on the counter the entire time and they had a great time playing together.

She did kill and eat a dove yesterday morning (ugh) and I am beginning to notice some herding instinct coming out. I've found she prefers the word "Enough" over "leave it" and she rarely bites or jumps up on me anymore (accept when she's really excited). I've also been playing a game with her where I hide morsels of food all over the apartment and she has to "Find" them. She really enjoys this searching game????? I also took her over to the park where there are some interesting kids jungle gyms....not A typical. She seemed to enjoy the agility challenge (including going through a tube). She also greeted a few men during my yard sale on Saturday without being wary but she did bark at a black lady; she was wearing headphones though (Lucy doesn't like it when people wear hats).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good for you and Lucy! Remember to be consist and take it one step at a time.

 

If you can, find men, women, black people, folks with hats, whatever group of folks Lucy is anxious about (not comfortably familiar with) and press them into service - ignoring her and letting her make the first move, tossing her really appealing treats, and being willing to kneel down and make friends when she is ready.

 

Best wishes!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The other day we had gone for a 5 mile walk/run and came across a fenced in section for construction. There were sand bags along the fence (dark green tarp material tied up into 5 pound sand bags). Lucy was totally freaked out by them. She wouldn't go near them until I touched it and told her it was okay. She was fine after that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What you just learned from Lucy (and we think we are doing all the training) is that she can depend on you to let her know if something is safe or not, just by your attitude and willingness to "reach out and touch". It's a very good thing as she is showing you that she has trust in you, and you are also trusting her to show you what makes her anxious.

 

Great work!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...